⋆✦⭒𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐗⋆✧⭒

𝟬𝟭𝟲 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝗈𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌

┊𖤐₊˚. ࿐ྂ。In deeper part of swamp, the boys and girls followed the troll's trail further and further into the trees. They had followed it's trail but they still haven't found it. The light slowly leached from their surroundings leaving them in almost complete darkness. Bloom and Flora lead the others, who followed closely behind.  No one wanted to get lost in the trees which were getting darker and spookier with every step the group took.

“What do you hear now?” Brandon asked Bloom and Flora.

“Well, it's not really a sound,” Bloom said trying to explain the strange feeling resonating from deep inside her.
Flora hummed in agreement as she tried to think of the right words. “Yeah Brandon, the Voice of Nature is something that you feel inside,” Flora said. It was similar to an instinct but it wasn't an instinct. 

Sky huffed. “Ha, well I've been tryin' but I can't feel anything at all.”

Tecna nudged Sky in a reassuring way.
“I can't hear this Voice of Nature either. I'm from a wired realm, but believe me we can trust Bloom and Flora on this,” Tecna said.

Bloom and Flora’s warm expressions melted from their faces as they slowed to a stop, their eyes spaced in front of them. Bloom frowned while Flora scanned her surroundings.

“What is it?” Riven asked in a light tone. He had been keeping himself at bay.

“It stops here.”

The others exchanged bewildered glances before looking to Flora for direction. However Flora was rooted in her spot as well. Sky looked around. “So, where's the troll?” he asked the two.

“Gone but. . .” The odd note in Bloom’s voice told the group more than her actual words, making it clear that the troll had not just walked away from the swamp. There was something else.

“But what?” Musa questioned.

“I sense something else. Something cold,” Flora told the group. “There's really negative energy in the air here.“
“I feel it too.”

They scanned their surroundings. Tecna whipped out a small hand-held device and took a quick analysis of the area.
“Singed ions,” Tecna said. “It indicates dark magic.”

“So someone used dark magic to make the troll vanish?” Sky questioned, confused.

“But who?” Timmy asked.

“Well, we know the troll works for Knut, and we know Knut is the grunt for the three witches,” Musa said. Bloom sighed as she thought about everything that happened that led to the troll’s escape. The aircraft had been taken down so mysteriously. Tecna had implied that someone struck it down, but they did not know who it was. It had been hard to track down the troll when it should have been easy since a troll was not smart at all.

“You think those three are the ones who shot us down?” Brandon asked just when Bloom’s gaze slid to the ground where a dark small grey feather was situated. She spotted another one nearby and another by the tree. Her eyes follow the trail of the feather and she almost chuckled.

“Look.”

They all looked over at Bloom who crouched down to pick up tbe feather.
“Hmmm.”

“Don't those look like duck feathers?” Tecna asked the girl.
“And don't we know three witches being stalked by a duck, cause of a spell we put on them?” Bloom asked and Stella giggled nodding.

“The Trix.”

“It looks like we've got the proof we need,” Stella said matter-of-factly.

“But what are they up to? They must have a pretty good reason for wanting the troll.”  Bloom’s frown was deep and contemplative.